Modular optical fiber color image scanner with all-optical scanner head having side-coupled light guide for providing illumination light to the scanner head

Abstract

A scanner has an optical-electric module, an incoherent fiber bundle, and a scanner head. The incoherent fiber bundle has illumination fibers and pickup fibers. The illumination fibers carry only illumination light from a light source in the O/E module toward the scanner head. The pickup fibers carry sensed light from the scanner head to a CCD array in the O/E module. The scanner head has a light guide that receives the illumination light from the illumination fibers. The light guide is in contact with the pickup fibers in an arrangement which permits the illumination light to enter the side of the illumination fibers near the end. Illumination light reflected back into the pickup fibers is guided to the CCD array.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.